First off, let's go over the changes:
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| Part 1 of the Pottermore Potion Guide here |
- Potions value-wise have changed tremendously. They vary from 0-100 points, with the most efficient potion being 1 minute to brew at a 8 point reward. It is also free to brew. This potion is of course, Cure for Boils. Cure is back on top after a long hiatus for being the fastest brewing potion (last on top in beta, when it was the shortest and gave 5 points.
- A new potion, beautification, has been added, adding just a touch more variety
- It is now possible to put a potion in, and go to bed and get it in the morning. A potion at midnight would be ready for 100 points the following morning, and one at 10 would be ready at 6 the following day. This makes potions a much better alternative and allows one to literally earn points as they sleep. They could even wait half a day, or even a full day, to earn some points.
- Cauldrons now have difficulties
So with these improvements. What now? How does that really help users?
First the good. Due to the wider variety in times, one could travel, go to class, even take a mini vacation while still earning a considerable amount of points, and far more reliably than could be done with Dueling alone. This is definitely the best change for a long time that Pottermore has unleashed upon us. In addition, with the increase of difficulty, it does make things slightly more interesting. In addition, it does provide a honest competing potion to dueling, with the points being roughly comparable if one is brewing JUST potions as opposed to just dueling.
Though there are a few problems this shift does not solve and even naturally exasperates. The limited resources problem is STILL a major problem, and without user-run banks and trading, this problem will force some to create new accounts in order to continue brewing after their supplies of certain ingredients run out. The other thing is this will naturally make it so some potioneers may opt to be "collectors" and it emphasizes their importance far more than it had in previous cups. Second, there is JUST one potion that could be considered truly comparable to dueling, and the rest are just slower, and not as efficient. This leads to the same problem with many of the games on Pottermore as users become better and smarter. Simply that it will become a more monotonous game, though with brewing, this may be mitigated through the time-managing requiring an individual to practice different potions while moving forward.
Thus, hopefully with the next change, when it happens, it will provide more ways to earn galleons, or create more open trades with other users.
So, what do you think of these potions? Would Snape be proud the art of the brew is getting the recognition it deserves, or would he be devastated by it's new association with "silly wand waving?"
First the good. Due to the wider variety in times, one could travel, go to class, even take a mini vacation while still earning a considerable amount of points, and far more reliably than could be done with Dueling alone. This is definitely the best change for a long time that Pottermore has unleashed upon us. In addition, with the increase of difficulty, it does make things slightly more interesting. In addition, it does provide a honest competing potion to dueling, with the points being roughly comparable if one is brewing JUST potions as opposed to just dueling.
Though there are a few problems this shift does not solve and even naturally exasperates. The limited resources problem is STILL a major problem, and without user-run banks and trading, this problem will force some to create new accounts in order to continue brewing after their supplies of certain ingredients run out. The other thing is this will naturally make it so some potioneers may opt to be "collectors" and it emphasizes their importance far more than it had in previous cups. Second, there is JUST one potion that could be considered truly comparable to dueling, and the rest are just slower, and not as efficient. This leads to the same problem with many of the games on Pottermore as users become better and smarter. Simply that it will become a more monotonous game, though with brewing, this may be mitigated through the time-managing requiring an individual to practice different potions while moving forward.
Thus, hopefully with the next change, when it happens, it will provide more ways to earn galleons, or create more open trades with other users.
So, what do you think of these potions? Would Snape be proud the art of the brew is getting the recognition it deserves, or would he be devastated by it's new association with "silly wand waving?"
While the large increase in points is very good, it is concerning that this change now makes Pottermore favor brewing over dueling, instead of making it even with dueling, which is what I was hoping for.
ReplyDeleteBrewing Cure for Boils can earn up to 480 points per hour, which is far more than even the best duelers can make in open duels. At most that I've seen, folks can make about 400 points per hour- assuming amazing dueling skills, and that is dependent on the response of opens and the skill of the dueler- generally I can only earn about 300 at best. Even brewing Herbicide, the second fastest potion, allows potioneers to earn 406 points per hour, which is still more than the average dueler.
I do wonder whether this may cause many who were chiefly duelers to become brewers, in the way that previously most were duelers even if they enjoyed potions more. Certainly, last night after the change, the Dueling Hall was rather quiet and responses were slow, whereas there was tremendous activity in Potions, and indeed a cursory glance through Recent Activity in potions showed me that many duelers were now only brewing Cure for Boils.
A final comment- though it is good to have some variety in potions times, I am disappointed that we no longer have a 45 minute potion. The gap in point making potions goes from around 1 min - 5 min to 20 min - 30 min (Sleeping Draught in pewter) and then 1 hour and a half (Shrinking solution). I do wish there were something in between, around 45 min or 1 hour. On the other hand, I am very glad there is now a potion that can be brewed overnight, which I have been hoping for.